When it comes to simple and delicious, Beef Top Round Roast (roast beef) with Onion Gravy hits the nail on the head! With some simple ingredients, this budget-friendly cut of beef is transformed into a succulent and holiday-worthy roast that’s easy enough for weeknights!
Holidays often feature expensive cuts of meat, such as prime rib and chateaubriand, and while those are incredible in their own right, it’s so great to have a more affordable option.
A top round roast is less expensive than the cuts above and is every bit as tasty, especially when paired with this delicious onion gravy and/or horseradish sauce.
It’s great for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other holidays, but my family loves it so much I’ll often make it during the week.
Serve with roasted garlic mashed potatoes or cinnamon roasted butternut squash, and creamed spinach for a full and hearty meal!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Beef. This recipe is for a top round, however, you could also use eye round as I did for my deli roast beef, or rump roast.
- Wine. For the gravy, use a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
- Stock. Whenever possible, I suggest using homemade beef stock, however, you can also use a low-sodium stock made from beef base.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Remove the 4-pound top round roast from the fridge and place it on a wire rack and baking sheet or roasting pan and season it on all sides with 1 1/2 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Allow the roast to sit out for 90 minutes before roasting. Slice 1 large white onion into 1/4″ thick slices.
- Preheat the oven to 300f. Heat a large cast iron pan to medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, pat the roast dry of any accumulated water, and sear the roast on all sides, then move to a plate.
- Turn the heat to medium and add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Saute until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Place the roast on top of the onions, fat cap side up, and insert an oven-safe thermometer into the center of the thickest part of the roast.
- Place the pan with the roast in the oven and cook until the center of the roast reaches 110-115f for rare, 125f for medium-rare, or 135f for medium. This should take anywhere from 40-60 minutes depending on the level of doneness you prefer.
- Move the roast to a cutting board and lightly tent it with foil. Place the pan with the onions back on a burner and turn the heat to medium. Add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and cook, stirring frequently, until no white specks appear (about 1-2 minutes).
- Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and turn the heat to high while whisking or stirring and cook for 1 minute. Add 2 1/2 cups of homemade or low-sodium beef stock, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 sprig of rosemary and bring to a simmer while stirring. Allow the onion gravy to simmer for at least 5 minutes to slightly thicken and reduce.
- Taste test the gravy and adjust with salt and pepper as needed, then slice the top round roast against the grain and serve with the onion gravy. Enjoy!
Top tips
- Use a slicing knife. My slicing knife is one of my favorite kitchen tools! I use it all the time when making roasts and it truly makes it so much easier to get perfect thin slices every time.
- Serving. I love to place the sliced beef into the pan with the onion gravy and serve, however, that can affect the temperature of the meat and make it appear more well-done than you’d like. If that bothers you, serve the sliced beef and simply drizzle some of the onion gravy on top, or offer it on the side.
- Leftovers. Use the slices of beef to make roast beef sandwiches the next day! They’re great with provolone, or you can pair it with onion jam and make hot roast beef sandwiches!
More delicious beef recipes
Here are a few more of my favorite ways to use beef. I hope you enjoy!
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Beef Top Round Roast with Onion Gravy
Ingredients
For the roast
- 1 4-pound top round roast or eye round or rump roast
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (15g) Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large white or yellow onion sliced 1/4" thick
For the onion gravy
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the roast from the fridge and place it on a wire rack and baking sheet or roasting pan with baking sheet. Season equally on all sides with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Leave the roast out for at least 90 minutes before roasting.
- Preheat the oven to 300f.
- Heat a large cast iron pan to medium-high heat with the oil and sear the roast on all sides then remove to a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes or until soft.
- Place the roast on top of the onions, fat cap side up. Insert an oven-safe digital thermometer into the center of the roast.
- Place the pan with the roast in the oven and cook until the center of the roast reaches 110-115f for rare, 125f for medium rare, or 135f for medium. The roast will take anywhere from 40-60 minutes depending on the level of doneness you choose.
- Once the roast has finished cooking, move it to a cutting board and tent with foil. Meanwhile, make the onion gravy below.
For the onion gravy
- Place the pan with onions on a burner and turn the heat to medium. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until no white specks appear (about 1-2 minutes).
- Add the white wine and turn the heat to high while whisking or stirring. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, and Rosemary and bring to a simmer while stirring. Simmer for at least 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly.
- Taste test the gravy and season with salt and pepper if required. Slice the roast against the grain and serve with the onion gravy. Enjoy!
Notes
- Top round (London broil) is recommended but bottom round (rump roast) and eye of round will work well too.
- Before slicing, you can cut off the top fat cap if you like. Depending on the beef cut and the place it was purchased from, it might not have much of a fat cap to begin with.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So I’ve done this twice now, the first time straight, following the recipe, for Christmas the first time (went over great, tasted like what my grandfather, who was a butcher at Finast on SI, used to make
Second time, did it to have the roast beef for sandwiches, but could not remember the temp, so I cooked it at 350 for 45 minutes and it came out pink nearly edge to edge –and the edge was more the brown sear crust than that grey ring.
Either way, thanks for giving me something back I thought I’d lost.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Jack!
Amazing recipe. Only had a bottom roast with a fat cap and cooked it medium rare to rare. I didn’t have to change a thing about the recipe. Served it with buttery mashed potatoes and sautéed broccoli. Family raved.
We’re so happy you and your family enjoyed, Eileen!
Can this be done in a slow cooker successfully?
Hi Stan, this recipe wasn’t tested in a slow cooker so we can’t say what the outcome would be.
I need to make this ! I know it’s gonna be good, so five stars in anticipation of eating this !
Delicious. Just like my MIL made 50 yrs ago. Thanks for sharing. ❤️
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Denise!
First time making roast beef, came out perfect! I did cook it at a lower temp (280F) due to another comment but I think even at 300F it would have been perfect. Gravy was so good too.
We’re so happy you enjoyed!
Made this tonight for my husband and I with a 2 pound roast. Cut the time to 35 mins and it was perfect. Thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Donna!
What about tenderness and what grade of beef did you use.
It’s a cost factor is top round more tender then bottom round
Would you mind making comments on the grade of beef your using
Thank You
Darn good site, great job
For the most part, we’re using choice grade when making these recipes. Top round is generally more tender than bottom round, but Jim has used both and both can be used for this recipe. Thanks for the comment!
Is there ANY way to cut back on the salt? We just can’t handle over 1000 mg of sodium/
Yes, you can definitely reduce the amount of salt to suit your needs.
James, just want to confirm, season BEFORE the rest, or rest THEN season. I thought salting much beforehand draws out the moisture but maybe you want that with this recipe?. Thanks so much. Cannot wait to try it.
Hi Brenda, it’s season first, then rest. You’re essentially doing a quick dry brine. Hope you enjoy!
What about adding mushrooms to this recipe?
Go for it!
This looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe. The only change I would make for myself is to cook it at 250°F or 275°F. It definitely takes longer to get to the 110°F internal temperature but the pink is more evenly edged to edge than at 300°F internal temperature in my experience.
food keeps us happy. when you find a recipe that is easy to make with such success rates, you keep it in your ‘top 10’ recipes for all time. this recipe is one of those. The flavor of the finished product is great and all of my friends we have served it to say that it reminds them of the Sunday Dinners we all experienced as kids. It is a grown up dish, but the memories it evokes is the best part. Thanks again for an easy to prepare, but incredibly rich and flavorful recipe.
We are so happy you enjoyed it, David!
Awesome recipes.
Thats what roast beef should look like!